1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a hot coke receiving device for a coke oven, particularly a coke oven of a dry quenching type.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Dry quenching facilities for coke are generally arranged as follows: Hot coke discharged from a coke oven is received by a coke bucket which is mounted on a bucket car that travels on rails and is thus transported to a hoisting tower. The coke bucket is hoisted by a crane to a point above a pre-chamber of the dry quenching facility. Then, a coke discharge gate which is provided in the bottom of the coke bucket is opened to charge the inside of the pre-chamber with the hot coke. The hot coke is quenched by the dry quenching facility. The sensible heat of the hot coke is effectively utilized for obtaining steam, for example, with a boiler for power generation within the coke oven system. Meanwhile, after the hot coke is discharged, the coke bucket is again put on the bucket car in preparation for the next discharge operation of the coke oven. The coke bucket is thus repeatedly used for transporting the hot coke.
FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) of the accompanying drawings show the conventional arrangement of the coke bucket and the bucket car. As shown, a rectangular coke bucket 3A which is provided with a rectangular coke receiving plate 2 is mounted on a bucket car 1. The car 1 is pulled by an electric car 31 to a predetermined position at an opening provided in the coke oven before the discharge operation takes place. Then, the coke 5 which is pushed out via a coke guide from the coke oven 4 is received by the bucket 3A while the bucket travels at a low speed within the range of an effective length l of the bucket. However, in the existing coke ovens, the coke falling point 6 is located extremely close to the coke oven and the shape of the coke thus received after loading is lop-sided toward the coke oven side of the bucket due to an angle of repose 29 as shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b). As a result, the ratio of the effective loading volume of coke to the total capacity of the coke bucket 3A has been extremely low.
Further, as apparent from the loaded shape, the coke creates an unbalanced load. The unbalanced load necessitates provision of a balance weight on one side of the coke bucket 3A opposite to the coke oven side at the time when the coke bucket 3A is to be hung up by the crane at the hoisting tower. The provision of the balance weight then increases the total weight of the coke bucket.
To solve these problems, a coke bucket car was disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No.Sho 54-39483, in which: A turn-table is provided on the coke bucket car and the coke bucket is disposed on the turn-table. According to this prior art arrangement, the capacity of the coke bucket can be reduced as the coke can be received while the turn-table rotates with the coke bucket placed thereon. Since the lop-sided load can be thus avoided, the occurrence of tumbling of the coke bucket car at the curved portions of the rails can be prevented as mentioned in the utility model publication.
However, since the coke bucket car disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 54-39483 is arranged to have the turn-table on the car, it has the following shortcoming: The coke which falls through a cleavage around the discharge gate and the dust which floats during a discharge operation of the coke oven accumulates on the turn-table, thus hindering the stably mounted state and smooth rotation of the coke bucket. This shortcoming of the prior art arrangement has necessitated the use of human labor or compressed air for the removal of accumulated dust.
As the coke bucket rotating mechanism, Australian Pat. No. 75292/81 discloses: An appliance for transporting hot coke, in which a coke transport container is provided having a circular shape, tapering conically in the lower portion, and which is designed to be set into rotation during the filling operation, characterised in that a circular guide-rail is attached to an outer wall of the coke transport container, in the region of the conical taper, and in that at least four running-wheels are attached to a girder structure of a transport car associated with the said appliance, the coke transport container being set down on this car during the filling operation, and the spacing of the running-wheels being matched to the diameter of the circular guide-rail, at least one running-wheel being connected to a drive unit which is likewise attached to the girder structure.
However, the prior art has a disadvantages being that if a force smaller than the load resistance force (friction) loaded onto a plurality of free wheels is transmitted to only one driving wheel, the bucket will not rotate; only slippage will occur. For example, the bucket is very often susceptible to heat deformation due to the very high temperature of the hot coke so that the rails are also deformed having irregular surfaces, thus causing incomplete contact between the rails and the wheels. In this case, the bucket will not rotate at all. This problem may be solved by providing two or more driving wheels, but this will create an increased cost and size of the device. In order to increase the coke loading rate of the bucket, it is desired that the bucket is rotated consistently from the starting point of the bucket operation. In this sense the prior art cannot ensure the consistent rotation of the bucket due to the slippage and inertia inherent to the frictional rotation.